The Money Pit

I thought this was a rather good effort at making the worst romantic comedy ever. Even being used to films treating me like an idiot, I was mildly surprised by The Money Pit ('Spielberg Presents'). The 'film' presents a beautifully symmetric structure. It is framed by a ludicrous prelude and a preposterous postlude. At the centre stands one- long gag, repeated over and over. Lacking any kind of plot or character development this lovely mindless RomCom is brutally brought to a brutally lovely end by the most painful of narrative clichés. --- NO MUCH TO SPOIL SPOILER --- So, here are a little more details if you are curious about Hanks's worst film but have wisely decided not to watch it. If it's surreal fun what you're after, you might be better off going back to Lynch. The central part of the film is one long gag about a house literally - oh yes so very delightfully literally - falling apart. Hanks's character keeps injuring his spinal cord and getting electrocuted but, alas, he does not die. Eheh, that's funny. Then, 20 minutes to the end, when I was almost getting used to the total lack of narrative drive, and was learning how to sink deep into my sofa to enjoy the film as mere abstract visual pleasure, something started to happen. It was like - the film-makers suddenly realising that this was meant to be a romantic comedy. So yes, they come up with the twist: She has dinner with her ex-husband and wakes up in her bed! Ah! Her husband tells her they had sex! Ah! She does not remember but believes him! Ah! OBSTACLE to the ROMANCE! Just now that Hanks had learnt how not to get electrocuted. Oh dear. Hanks is hurt, the two split up. But then, 5 minutes to the end... oh well I am not going to spoil this for you... but you're up for a big surprise!

There were two stories here that were very much intertwined. There was the story of the worthless home and the love story. The big fabulous looking sinkhole that was called a house was a barrel of laughs. It was Murphy's Law in that place. That house fell apart in an amazing fashion. All the while it put a financial and emotional strain on Walter (Tom Hanks) and Anna (Shelley Long). The house and all its problems put a big burden on their relationship, but not as big a burden as Anna hooking up with her ex-husband, Max (Alexander Godunov). That's where the love story comes into play. Hollywood loves to dictate to its viewers what true love is and what true love looks like. Anna, not wanting to spend the night alone in her big partially demolished house while her boyfriend was away on business, decided to stay with her ex-husband. Max unabashedly mentioned that they would be drinking plenty of alcohol and who knows where that would lead. Anna still agreed. Anna woke up in Max's bed not knowing what had happened that night. Max lied and told her that they'd slept together and she was amazing. She believed him because she had no recollection and here she is in his bed. Max was lying but that's really immaterial. Anna believed him and now she was in a compromised position: should she tell Walter the truth or lie? She decided to lie. She had to lie because Walter flat out asked if she'd slept with Max. Max was this handsome, wealthy guy who she used to be married to so it is more than a possibility that there may be a spark remaining between them. Walter eventually cajoled Anna and convinced her that he only wanted the truth and it wouldn't affect their relationship. Anna capitulated and told him the truth. Naturally, he got angry. Unnaturally, Anna got angry. She felt lied to now. She felt like if she told him the truth she should be forgiven. So, in her words, she was upset that Walter wouldn't forgive her. Only women can screw up and have the audacity to be angry at their partner. A man is having to grovel and beg for the rest of his life. Here is where Hollywood steps in to tell us what real love is. Walter took her back. Not only did he take her back but he also said that her sleeping with Max was the best thing that ever happened in their relationship because it made him realize how much he really loved her. From there they got married and presumably lived happily ever after. Maybe I don't know what love is then. I have yet to reach that level of felicitous love and I don't personally know anyone who has. Usually, cheating on the other person is the death knell of a relationship. Or, if it does survive it is never quite the same. One thing is for sure--no one is saying that it was the best thing to ever happen to their relationship. Hollywood love is such a crock.

This is an out and out example of plagiarism, at its worst. The story is based upon the earlier film from the late 1940's called "Mr Blandings Builds His Dreamhouse" that starred Cary Grant, Myrna Loy and Melvin Douglas. That film is chock full of sophisticated humor and even slapstick comedy as only the incomparable Cary Grant could perform. Myrna Loy is constant as his seductive but loyal wife and Melvin Douglas as her old college boyfriend who was beat out by Cary. This later adaptation, if you care to call it that for the purpose of keeping it clean, is a writer's and director's mulligan stew of ineptness, not to mention the sophomoric performances of the leading "actors". For me it's like comparing a fine vintage wine with sewer water. Why don't these "indies" really act like indies and write their own stories to screw up instead of messing around with something that was done perfectly the first time around? Miss this one like the plague!

Richard Benjamin directs this comedy about a young couple and their misery trying to turn a dilapidated house into their dream home. Situational comedy makes up for the flimsy story line. Two young stars on their way up...Tom Hanks and Shelley Long work absolutely great together. Funny script with even funnier one-line rebuttals. Very good support from Joe Mantegna, Philip Bosco and Yakov Smirnoff.

Whoa! I can't believe what rave reviews everyone else gave this movie! Are you kidding me? You must be!! The first time I saw this move is when I was a kid, and I found it incredibly annoying. I can't stand weak characters, and this movie's main characters are whimpy and whining all the time. Well, to my misfortune, the movie was on cable today and I had it on in the background as I was doing other things. AaRGH! It's just as annoying as I remember, possibly even more annoying! How to best summarize this movie? In 10 words (9) or less... THIS MOVIE WILL MAKE YOU WANT TO SLAP SOMEBODY!!!! *Two thumbs down.*

It's pretty interesting to see Tom Hanks the screwball comedian, but I can't really say it's funny. More of a time document really. This movie has one gag, whenever you do anything to the house, something will break/fall apart/collapse. That got a couple of laughs, but it gets so tiresome and they do not know when to stop. And once they bail out on the slapstick ideas they just give up humor in its entirety. There's not a single joke in the ending half hour or so. Just the two leads(who have none of the obligatory "chemistry") bickering like you see in every comedy that somehow involves a relationship. And then obviously things go back to the way it was and a helpful builder wraps it up with an amazingly cheesy metaphor about marriage. But I didn't hate this movie. It's one of those kind-hearted attempts, and it actually looks like some people were trying their best. But failed. I should mention failed. It did make me notice that "Bachelor Party" was actually pretty good. That's something

Maltin's right. A good premise, but as the execution becomes progressively more heavy-handed, the humor becomes thinner and thinner. Appears to appeal to the sense of humor of a 10 year old. This one made the exalted ranks of the few movies I have stopped and rewound before finishing, because shortly after ceasing to laugh I ceased to care. A genuine bowser.

A lemon of a movie..Hanks and Long play a couple who run into every problem imaginable when buying a new house..as the house falls apart so does the relationship..and the movie..Not one of Hanks best and not one of Long's best (which isn't saying much for her) Avoid..you have been warned On a scale of one to ten... 0

This is the rarest of the rare: a one-joke comedy where the one-joke is able to sustain the whole film. It all begins when Hanks and Long buy a big, grand, dream house in the New York countryside. It is, of course, too good to be true, after the sob-story old lady has sold it to them it begins to crumble into disaster. But because there are so many angles for the filmmakers to come from---collapse of stairs, wild animals lurking, bad wiring---it manages to hold itself together for around ninety minutes. A big credit goes to Hanks, who's facial expressions are priceless at times. Such as when he accidentally hammers his thumb. Too stunned to curse, he does what we all do, as he begins to beat the hell out of the object he was hammering. Even his charm in the earlier scenes, like dealing with a bratty kid-star, are funny. Long is good as his sort of straight-(wo)man, but Godunov steals all his scenes as her self-absorbed ex husband. Bosco is great as the grandfather of the entire construction crew, and even the sub-sub-characters are engaging as everyone always has a goofy line to chime in with, i.e. the infamous "Two weeks". But the coup de gras of the entire thing is a slapstick set-piece that brings down the house, literally. All I'll say is that involves Hanks going on a proverbial roller-coaster ride in and around the house for a good two minutes. The choreography and timing, starting with Hanks and going all the way down the extras, is amazing. Even if you aren't into the film, at least stay until that moment. There's an extra-marital subplot, that usually in a comedy, never fits. But because we like Hanks and Long so much, we get into it. And it leads to one of Hanks' funnier line readings ever. To the longtime fans of the movie: "YOU WH*RE!"

Tom Hanks and Shelley Long star in this hilarious film about a couple who buy a million dollar home for $200,000 - only to find out it's going to cost close to a million to repair it! Wood rot, raccoons in the dumbwaiter, a bad roof, bad plumbing, bad electricity - you name it, this house has it. Hard to choose the funniest scene - the staircase collapse or Hanks getting dumped in cement. The entire cast is excellent, from Maureen Stapleton, the former homeowner whose boyfriend is being deported, Hanks' clients (he's an entertainment attorney), the many workers who populate the house, or Douglass Watson, Hanks' embezzler father who now lives in Rio. It would also be hard to choose the funniest line, but for anyone who has owned a home, probably the Shirks Brothers line when their team comes to repair the house - "Your name came up in a drawing - we work today!"